By ANDREA JAMES AND AMY ROLPH, P-I REPORTERS

Updated 10:00 pm, Monday, November 3, 2008

The Seattle Times is again reducing its staff -- this time by 10 percent -- and more cuts may come as the newspaper tries to budget for 2009.

After making several cost reductions earlier this year, managers at The Seattle Times Co. figured that they had adapted to changes plaguing the newspaper industry. But in recent months, the national economy has become worse than expected.

"Prior to the country's current financial crisis, the Seattle Times Co. did an excellent job making necessary adjustments in staffing and infrastructure in response to the structural changes in the newspaper/electronic media business. Unfortunately, today's economic situation is forecast to last through 2009 and possibly into 2010," Times Publisher Frank Blethen and President Carolyn Kelly said to staff Monday in an e-mail memo.

The budget cuts are necessary to keep The Seattle Times and its Web site operating for "many more years of success and community service," Blethen's memo continued.

The Seattle Times wants to reduce its work force by 130 to 150 positions, which will include voluntary separations and layoffs, the memo said. Some groups will be forced to work fewer hours.

Earlier this year, The Seattle Times Co. cut 277 jobs by freezing positions, voluntary separations, layoffs and elimination of its north suburban bureau team.

The company also put two of its four downtown properties up for sale, put its Maine newspapers up for sale and signed a deal to outsource trucking for newspaper delivery.

All of Washington's major daily newspapers saw drops in circulation during the six months ended Sept. 30, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Meanwhile, soaring numbers of visitors to seattletimes.com and seattlepi.com have not translated to sufficient boosts in revenue.

Despite cuts, The Seattle Times' network, which includes both those Web sites, remains the area's largest provider of news and information, reaching 70 percent of adults in King and Snohomish counties, according to the company.

"Like the rest of the industry, we have been working through challenging financial circumstances due to the structural changes in our industry," Jill Mackie, a spokeswoman for The Seattle Times Co., wrote in an e-mail. "Now, because of the national economic situation, advertising revenue for the Times and P-I has further eroded over the last few months."

More cuts may be coming. The reductions reflect budget decisions made so far for 2009, Times Co. spokeswoman Corey Digiacinto said.

"As the budgeting process continues, there will be additional expense reductions, which may include additional layoffs," she said. "We will continue to monitor the numbers very carefully in order to gauge the situation. We are taking the steps needed to align our expenses with our revenue, and we will continue to do so, so that we can position ourselves for the future."

Because of an emphasis on voluntary separations, it is not known which departments will be hardest hit. Specifics won't emerge until at least mid-December, Digiacinto said.

"Then, they'll know how much money they need to save, and then they'll take a look at who they've got and where they want to trim."

The deadline for employees to express interest in the voluntary separation package is Monday, she said.

"The mood is pretty grim. I think people are on edge," Kuramoto-Eidsmoe said.

"It's hard because people are angry, but sort of in an unfocused way. There's not a specific person or thing to be angry at."

Most of those leaving the company will be gone by year-end, Digiacinto said.

As of Oct. 31, the Times employed 1,599 people full and part time, including business functions for the Times and P-I. At the end of 2007, The Seattle Times had employed 1,879 people full and part time. The Seattle Times newsroom has about 260 people.

The P-I, which is owned by The Hearst Corp., relies on The Times Co. for printing, circulation, distribution and advertising sales as part of a joint operating agreement.

The papers maintain separate newsrooms.

The P-I has no plans for layoffs, P-I Associate Publisher Ken Bunting said.

"We have reduced the staff substantially through attrition for the past three years," Bunting said. The P-I employs about 170 people in mostly newsroom functions.